Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Cherry-O Cream Cheese Pie

This has always been one of my favorite summer pies and I swear it is literally the easiest pie in the world. I almost hate to post recipes like this because they are so simple that even if you've never made it before, once you have, you really never need the"recipe" again.

Far as I can tell, the pie came about sometime in the 60s through an ad to promote two Borden's products - Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk and Borden cream cheese - but, truth is, it's held onto its popularity even still today.

Y'all know how much I love vintage recipes anyway, and since this one is a throwback to the 60s, it's also a bit nostalgic to me. Besides that, I'm certain that some of you may have never heard of this simple pie, while others of you may have forgotten about it... so, here it is for you to enjoy!

When I was growing up, we had a Borden's milkman who made regular weekly stops at our house. Mama bought our milk, cream, butter and a few others things from him and Daddy paid the bill monthly so she didn't have to factor in the dairy products for three growing kids in her monthly grocery allowance. I can even remember a time when the milk was in bottles!

I swear our milkman must've been twelve back then though, because he is actually still driving a route here on the coast, but now it's for Schwann's foods. I don't buy from him because my freezer is usually filled with store sale stockups, but their food is actually pretty good, though a little expensive I guess. Like anything, you pay for the convenience. Even my Grandma Mac loved their apple pies and ice cream.

You can use all sorts of crusts for this pie from pastry, to graham cracker to cookie - they are all equally good. I happened to have one of those frozen in the pan crusts that The Cajun picked up for me once when he swore they didn't have any Pillsbury refrigerated crusts at the store. Pillsbury has always been my favorite commercial crust, and I like to keep those on hand for the times I feel lazy and just want a pie without fooling with making the crust.

There's nothing at all wrong with the in the pan crusts, of course. They are a fine product, except that they aren't the easiest to store long term because they take up too much room in the freezer. Anyway, it had been getting shoved around my freezer for months, so that's what I used.

Over the years, folks have messed around somewhat with the ingredients for this simple pie, but I think it's perfect just the way it started. Here's how to make it.

Beat the cream cheese by hand just until smooth. Fold in the condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla until blended. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Top with the pie filling before serving.

Homemade Cherry Glaze: In a small saucepan, blend together 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Drain cherry juice from a (1-pound) can of pitted sour cherries into sugar mixture, bring to a boil, reduce and cook until mixture is thickened. Add food coloring if desired and stir in cherries. Allow to cool completely before adding to top of chilled pie. Makes about 1 cup.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

29 comments:

Thanks Kanak! I don't know about all that beautiful, but I can tell you one thing. It's tasty!! I barely even got a shot for the blog before we nearly ate half of it!! Thanks so much for stopping by - please visit again.

I used to make these from time to time, but it's been quite a while. Time to introduce my 8 year old granddaughter to this recipe. She loves cheesecake and cherries, so I'm sure she'll love this, and it's easy enough that she can help me make it. Great post!!

Love this pie, my Mom made it all the time but cheated a bit and used a can of cherry or blueberry pie filling for the topping. When my sister married her husband loved it and she made it for him often. About a year later she brought one to Daddy; he took one bite and asked BIL if he had been eating this for a year. She was leaving out the condensed milk!

Hmmmm........or should i say YYUUUMMMMM. Yes, i remember the milkman, and my Dad drove a milk route long before WWII took him away from home. Yes indeed, we'd run out in the morning and pull those still cold bottles of milk and cream out of the little insulated box. The bottles had some really hi-tech card board plugs in them, and if we saved the plugs there were craft projects we could do with them. Milk was probably $0.39 / gallon.....

My mom made this pie when I was little. She only made it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it was always my favorite. On my son's 7th birthday, he asked her if she would make that "delicious berry pie". Not only did she make his pie, she has been making it for his birthday every stinkin year since then (he is 21). Oh and did I mention that the pie is for him only and NO ONE else gets a piece. Grandmother love.

My Mom made a variation. She called it Cherry Gum-gum....she said she made it in 1963 or so for my sister's prom. They used Dream Whip since cool whip wasn't in existence yet. My brother makes this to take to the power plant where he works. The guys love it. BTW, I found the 'original' recipe Mom used. It was called Cherry Yum-Yum but Mom being Mom, she got the name wrong. Mom's been gone 7 years now but her recipes live on with me and my brother (our sister, probably not so much) It will always be Cherry Gum-Gum to me.

My Mom made a variation. She called it Cherry Gum-gum....she said she made it in 1963 or so for my sister's prom. They used Dream Whip since cool whip wasn't in existence yet. My brother makes this to take to the power plant where he works. The guys love it. BTW, I found the 'original' recipe Mom used. It was called Cherry Yum-Yum but Mom being Mom, she got the name wrong. Mom's been gone 7 years now but her recipes live on with me and my brother (our sister, probably not so much) It will always be Cherry Gum-Gum to me.

Borden's was running a dairy truck in Ocean Springs in 1973 when my daughter was born. Since I was working long hours at Ingalls, it was a real convenience for my wife and the products were excellent. Also miss the Charles Chips trucks. Don't know how many cans of those wonderful chips I've eaten.

I miss those days Dalton - home delivered dairy products and Colonial bread, made fresh right here in Gulfport MS!! We got those tins of Charles Chips at the law office where I worked. I actually bought some for Christmas this year!

Thank you for posting this recipe & 60's ad. We live in Columbus Oh. Borden is based there. We used to have a Bordan milkman too. I am a child of the 60s but I didn't find this recipe until 1979. It was another Bordan ad. I have made this so many times over the years. It is my fav. No matter how many cheesecakes I have tried...this is still the best. Thanks for sharing the same memories as mine. :) :) Linda Gatliff

Thanks for posting this & the 1960s Borden ads & memories. I am in Columbus Oh so Bordon is based here. We always had the Bordon milkman. I loved getting milk that way. I was a 60s kid but I did not find this recipe until 1978 as an adult. It might have been from a recipe pamphlet for condensed milk. I LOVE this. I have made it for years & years. No matter how many cheesecakes I have tried (which has been a lot) this is my very fav still. :) :)

My mom made this, always on graham crust, and I have played with it over the years. When I was in high school, she started adding anywhere from 1/2 to 1 whole tub of cool whip, folding it in. I have put it on a chocolate crust, lessened the lemon juice, and added a package of chocolate pudding to the cream cheese mixture, and then folded in the cool whip. Talk about to die for! :) You can use strawberries as well, especially on the chocolate version.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

From time to time, anonymous restrictions and/or comment moderation may be activated due to comment spam. I also reserve the right to edit, delete or otherwise exercise total editorial discretion over any comments left on this blog.

Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.